Dabbles with Daddy
by Literature Is Life
Summary: After Gabriella springs her father on him, Troy discovers that he’s going to have to deal with not only one, but two huge relationship breakthroughs within a twenty-four hour period. He’s never been a fan of nerves. He still isn’t. TroyGabriella.
1. Chapter One

**Dabbles with Daddy**

There were three rules for Troy Bolton when it came to entering the Montez household and being in relations with Gabriella herself. They had been clearly explained the night of their – so dubbed – 'month-iversary.' Breaking the rules resulted in consequences that a teenaged boy did not care for and was harshly advised against.

Number one was that he should never, ever, feel it necessary to be alone in a room with Gabriella if the doors are closed and/or locked. Any urge that he felt to find himself in that position was to be thoroughly ignored and repressed unless he wished all future meetings to be held in the living room on separate couches with parental supervision.

Number two was that he should never, ever, consider himself to be considered anything less than family. Any attempt to ask before taking another serving of quesadilla would be considered invalid and would result in the loss of ice cream to accompany any brownie dessert.

Number three was that homework was to be completed by both parties, both himself and Gabriella, before anyone was to be scaling trees in backyards or picking locks on balcony doors. Disregard for the rule ended in installation of a security system to which neither Troy nor Gabriella would have the disarming code.

A few times, he'd broken number two and gotten caught. But he always sweet-talked his way to the ice cream. Once or twice he might have broken number one, but it was usually because he'd broken number three at a time when Gabriella's bedroom door had not been open. Fortunately, he was well versed in the art of sneaking and had never been caught.

Number four was one that he never broke. It was an unspoken rule that had never been firmly stated or enforced with harsh punishment. He had created the rule himself as a protection mechanism, shielding her from hurt that he assumed would come with breaking the rule. Rule number four was that he was never, ever, to mention Joseph Montez in the presence of the residents of the Montez household. The whereabouts of Gabriella's father were unknown to him, and were to remain so until he was told.

-

-

"I refuse to get into that car –"

"Truck, thank you very much."

"– truck, Troy Bolton!" He sighed, glancing out the open window on the passenger side of the cab, and drummed his fingers against the steering wheel. The brunette was clutching a light coat to her chest as she stared at him incredulously, brushing the blowing strands of hair away from her face. "It's a death trap, and," she slapped a hand against the window frame and stuck her head inside, "I bet these airbags don't even work anymore." Troy rolled his eyes and reached out to cup his girlfriend's cheek.

"Don't pull that with me, Troy Bolton," she scolded him. "Just because you touch my face and make puppy-dog eyes doesn't mean that I'm going to completely disregard that fact that the last time I was in this truck, the seatbelts didn't work and I almost _died_." She reached out a finger to loop around the seatbelt strap and tugged, "Oh, I guess you got them fixed." Gabriella sighed softly and reached through the window to pop open the passenger side door. She pulled away from his hand and yanked the door open, swinging it wildly as she threw her coat onto the seat beside Troy. Placing her bag on the floor, she hopped in and slammed the door shut.

"If I die in this car because of fume intoxication, I will be sure to haunt you as a ghost," she warned seriously, pointing at him. "And I am talking about a seriously vengeful ghost, my friend. A ghost who would have gone on to do great things in the world of science or literature, had her life not been cut short by her boyfriend's compact death-trap of a truck. I'm telling you right now, if I die, there will be severe ghost haunting." Troy chuckled lightly and leaned over in his seat, gently tugging on her elbow so that her body would tilt towards him.

Pressing a tender kiss to her lips, he murmured, "And a very attractive ghost you will be. Hello to you too." She giggled girlishly and returned his greeting, her lip-gloss smearing over his mouth. When she pulled back, she giggled again and wiped his face with her finger before placing another careful kiss on his lips. He scooted his entire body towards hers, tangling one of his hands in her hair and continuing to press kisses to the skin on her jaw line. She smiled shyly against his cheek and her hand gripped on to the material of his shirt.

As his mouth reached her earlobe, she pushed him back. "Alright, Wildcat. I would appreciate not getting the lecture about mysterious bruises on my neck when I get home, especially not today." He groaned playfully and leaned to her again, his lips brushing her jaw. "Troy, believe me. You'll thank me for this later." Troy sighed dramatically and removed his hand from her hair, but not before sneaking one last kiss from her.

"I doubt it," he mumbled, turning the key in the ignition. As he moved to reverse out of his parking spot in the East High parking lot, he put his arm behind Gabriella's headrest and began toying with a small curl of her hair. There was suddenly a blush gracing her cheeks and she glanced out the window bashfully, ducking her head slightly as two sophomore girls pointed towards them.

"Am I getting more embarrassing to you?" he questioned, letting his hand return to the steering wheel as he made a left turn at the corner. "Or are you getting shyer?" She smiled and looked down at her hands, clasped tightly in her lap, before moving to answer him. He glanced sideways at her quickly, noticing the out-of-place tightness in her jaw. "This isn't good," he observed softly, turning onto a side road and parking the car. Before he had a chance to ask her what was wrong, she spoke.

"My dad." She said it firmly, and Troy broke eye contact to look down at her embraced hands and laced fingers, slightly nervous about where this conversation was going. Also, he noticed, the box of Kleenex that his mother had thrown in to the truck was now both empty and flattened. Noting his silence, Gabriella encouraged, "You can ask about him, if you want. That way, it would be less awkward than me just spitting it out randomly." Glancing around the car awkwardly once more, Troy raised a hand to tousle his hair.

"I don't want to pry." Gabriella giggled softly and reached over to grab his hand.

"If I'm intending on sharing it with you anyway, Troy, it's not really considered prying." He still looked fairly uncomfortable, so she moved closer and pulled her knees up to her chest. "Alright, I know that we never talked about my dad, and that it's sort of like an unspoken rule in my house that we don't really mention him, but it's not…justified, really. I mean, we do mention him, just not when company is around." Using her free hand, she gently stroked her fingers through his hair.

He raised an eyebrow and glanced up at her fingers as they toyed with his hair. "Alright, I'll play along. What's the deal with your dad?" She smiled and ran her tongue over her bottom lip slowly.

"I don't talk about my dad that much and you probably think that he's dead, or that he's a bastard who left me and my mom, or something like that. But he's not. He's actually just been trying to get transferred here to New Mexico to be with my mom and me." Her words were slightly punctuated by chuckles. "He didn't want to quit his job and start looking for a new one here because he was afraid that he wouldn't find one fast enough, and he wanted to be able to support my mom and me. My parents are kind of freaked about saving for college, you know?" Troy smiled, nodding his head. He was no stranger to parental worries pertaining to college.

"I get it. Parents think of these last few years as crunch time." Gabriella smiled, scooting even closer to Troy's body and moving her arm to wrap around his torso.

"My dad stayed with my grandparents for a little while he was applying for a transfer to New Mexico, and it was just easier for my mom and I to not talk about him in public that much. It's stupid, but it just made is easier for us. We talk to him on the phone all the time and stuff, and we saw him on Christmas when we went to visit my grandparents. He finally got a transfer here to Albuquerque, though." Troy blinked several times as Gabriella stared back at him, her eyes wide with doe-like innocence. Narrowing his eyes at her playfully, he dipped his head to touch his forehead to hers.

"Why," he asked slowly, "do I feel as though you've known about this for quite a while? And why do I feel as though I'm going to have to find some way to impress your father at the barbeque tomorrow so that he is so enthralled by my charm that he forgets to castrate me for contaminating his little princess's innocence?" Gabriella's cheeks flushed rapidly and her eyes darted to glance down at their laced fingers.

"I only told you so late because I didn't want you to spend weeks freaking out, thinking about what it's going to be like and worrying your head off." She nudged her nose against the underside of his chin. "This way you know now, you'll drop me off at home, and he'll catch his first glimpse of a very responsible young man who was kind enough to drive me home and _not_ give my hickeys up and down my neck. Then, tomorrow, you can come over and hang out with everybody. Besides, my dad will probably be so distracted by meeting everyone that he won't even remember to give you the third degree." Troy placed his free hand on top of her knee and squeezed it nervously.

"Honestly, that's not making me feel much better. I have this strange feeling that your father _will_ make time, no matter what, to meet, and I use that term loosely because it's more like interrogate, the guy who's dating his daughter." Gabriella smiled softly, inhaling deeply and then pressing a gentle kiss to his jaw.

"But you'll come tomorrow, and you'll meet him anyway, won't you?" she asked tentatively, looking up at him hopefully. He smiled down at her and gave her hand a tight squeeze.

"Yes, I will be there tomorrow. You want me to meet your dad and get his blessing and everything, and I'll do that just for you." Gabriella beamed at him and gave him another brief kiss. "I'll be terrified out of my mind the entire time, but I'll be there," he promised.

"You're officially the best boyfriend ever."

"I know. So, who's actually coming tomorrow?" Gabriella moved back to her own seat as Troy started the car again, making a quick U-turn back onto the main road.

"Well, I originally was going to have you and Taylor and Ryan, but then I realized that if I invited both Taylor and Ryan that I would have to invite Chad, too, and Sharpay. And I felt bad for not including Kelsi, but then Jason would want to come, and then it would just be Zeke who was left out. So, as of now, you, Chad, Taylor, Ryan, Sharpay, Zeke, Jason, and Kelsi are coming. But only your parents, the Evans and the McKessies are actually coming. We didn't invite anybody else's parents." Troy glanced at her and he turned onto another side street, headed towards her house.

"So everyone that you know is going to be there, pretty much?" Gabriella nodded, rooting through her bag for her suddenly buzzing cell phone. "Who's that?"

"My dad," she sighed. "Ew, my dad just text messaged me. My parents shouldn't know how to text." The flipped open her phone. "Hey, this is a surprise. He wants to know where I am and why I'm not home yet. I've only been getting the same text message everyday for the past three days, every time I leave the house." Not bothering to respond to the text message, the stuffed her phone back into her bag. "I love my dad and all, but he's been here for three days and has already gone psycho-police-chief on me."

Frowning slightly as she noticed where Troy stopped the car again, she looked around. "Why'd you stop here?" she questioned, noting that the next right turn would be onto her block. Troy smiled, leaning over to her.

"Well, I guess I should give you your I'll-be-calling-you-in-about-a-half-hour kiss here. This way, your father won't come out of the house with a shotgun and murder me in the driveway." Gabriella rolled her eyes, but she smiled and leaned towards him anyway. Allowing his lips to linger against hers for several moments, she placed her hand in the middle of the bench seat and leaned farther into him as he teased her bottom lip with his teeth.

As a car that was passing the stop sign let out a loud beep, they pulled apart and Gabriella began blushing profusely. The senior citizens in the passing car shot the two teens dirty looks as they passed, and a blushing Troy and Gabriella slid down in their seats. Glancing at each other once the car turned a corner, they burst out laughing.

"I just got a seriously dirty look from two people who I _think_ go to my church," Gabriella gasped, giggling wildly as she slouched in her seat. "And I don't even care, just because I got to make out with you." Troy smirked at her before leaning over and placing a second kiss on her lips. "Actually," she whispered, nuzzling her nose against his, "it was kind of exhilarating."

"Maybe we should sit here a little longer, and if I see another car you can climb onto my lap and starting moaning out the window. I'll even throw in a little grope, if you want." Gabriella gasped and slapped at his chest, pulling away from him.

"You, Troy Bolton, are not prepared to meet my father. Then again," she corrected, glancing around, "maybe you are. You're very well versed in the art of hiding things from parents. Giving me the kiss around the corner from my house was borderline parental avoidance genius." Troy continued to smirk at her, brushing his lips against any part of her jaw that he could reach.

"Some of your brilliance must be rubbing off on me. That, combined with the deviousness that I get from Chad, is a dangerous concoction." Gabriella rolled her eyes, smiling as she pushed him back towards the driver's side of the car.

"Yeah, yeah, you're a mastermind. Now bring me home before my father calls the police, Einstein." Troy jokingly stuck his tongue out at her as he turned the corner. Pulling up in front of her house, he noticed the sudden movement through the living room window as someone stood and made their way towards the front door.

"I think your dad is anxious to see you," Troy smiled, gesturing towards her opening front door. Gabriella rolled her eyes slightly.

"I swear if he goes police chief investigator on me when I get inside, he's going to seriously piss me off." Troy chuckled and reached over to take her hand again. "You're corrupting me, you know. You got lucky; you got my genius, but I got your very horrible attitude."

"This is incredibly unfair. I would _love_ to be able to kiss you to shut you up, but your dad is watching me very closely at the moment." Gabriella glanced back at her house where her father was standing, arms crossed, at the front door. Pushing open the car door, she grabbed her bag and her jacket before leaning over to press a swift kiss to his cheek.

"Thanks for the ride, platonic buddy." He grinned at her.

"High five, Just-A-Friend." She slammed the car door shut and then reached back to slap his hand.

"Call me later?" she asked, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

He grinned, "Well, I did already give you the standard I'll-call-you-in-about-a-half-hour kiss. We wouldn't want to have gotten those dirty looks for nothing." She giggled and glanced towards the house when she heard her father's steps on the porch.

"And now, I leave you. Adios, Wildcat." He nodded as she walked away from the car. She accepted the hug from her father and then squeezed past him into the house. Gulping slightly as the parental gaze fell on him, Troy pulled away from the curb, fairly anxious to get away from the house.

-

-

Pulling up in front of his house, Troy sighed, letting his head fall back against the headrest. He didn't know how to 'meet the father.' Gabriella – though he was a bit embarrassed to admit it – was the first girlfriend he'd had where he'd met the parents at all. He'd never had a girlfriend serious enough to hang out at her house with her parents. Groaning to himself, he hopped out of his truck and slapped the door shut. Slinging his backpack over his shoulder, he headed towards his house.

"Hello, Troy!" a voice called out. Turning to his right, Troy spotted the man called from next door, looking up from the chalk drawing on the driveway. "I haven't seen you around in a while. How've you been?" Troy smiled politely, approaching the short fence that separated the two front years.

"Hey, Mr. Davis," he greeted. "I'm good." Waving at the small girl who was stumbling to her feet on the driveway beside his neighbor, he smiled. "Hey Jamie, how are you feeling? I heard that you were sick a few days ago." The toddler grabbed onto her father's leg and grinned at Troy, her pigtails shaking slightly.

"Much better, Troy!" she cried enthusiastically. "I had a cold in my nose. But I'm better now!" He smiled at her, readjusting the strap of his backpack on his shoulder. Suddenly, the front door of the house opened and Mrs. Davis called for Jamie to come inside to freshen up and have a quick snack. Jamie called goodbye quickly and then ran up the stoop and into the house. Mr. Davis stood awkwardly on the driveway with his hands in his pockets before taking a step towards the house.

"Well, I'd better get inside, too. I'll see you around, Troy." For a split-second, Troy felt a farewell on the tip of his tongue, but he bit it back and scooted around the fence quickly, making his way across the Davis's lawn.

"Hey, Mr. Davis, can I ask you a question?" The older man stopped and turned, smiling friendlily. Troy strode to the front walk, stopping in front of his neighbor.

"Of course. Hit me with your best shot." Troy smiled uneasily, once again readjusting the strap on his shoulder. His gaze dropped to his sneakers for a moment before he looked timidly at Mr. Davis.

"It's kind of about Jamie."

Mr. Davis chuckled, "She's a little young for you, don't you think?" Troy laughed along with him for a moment, rubbing at the back of his neck. As their laughter died down, another awkward silence settled over the pair, and Troy decided it was best to be blunt.

"What's it like being the father of a little girl?" he blurted, shifting his weight from foot to foot. Mr. Davis's eyebrows rose, and he sent Troy a questioning look.

"Why do you ask?" he inquired, crossing his arms over his chest. Troy glanced at his own home, spotting the empty spot in the driveway where his father's car would typically be.

"I felt kind of funny asking my dad for advice about it, but I really needed some advice from someone with experience."

Mr. Davis's eyes widened slightly and his eyebrows shot up on his forehead. "You're not…?"

"No," Troy yelped, his own eyes widening. "No, I didn't get anyone pregnant." Mr. Davis appeared greatly relieved and Troy managed a weak smile. "What I mean to ask is how does it feel? Like, when she starts dating, are you going to be freakishly protective? Are you going to really hate any guy that ever tries to go out with her? Are you going to try and cut off her first boyfriend's genitals?" A knowing smile appeared on his neighbor's face and Mr. Davis clapped Troy on the shoulder.

"You're meeting the parents, aren't you?" Troy smiled bashfully, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"Is my panic that obvious? Actually, I'm meeting the father. I already met her mom, but her dad stayed behind for his job and now he got a transfer and I have to meet him at a barbeque tomorrow and I have no idea what to do to impress this guy." Mr. Davis smiled at him.

"I was nervous when I met Tracy's parents. Her father was in the army. I remember thinking that he would kill me the second that I stepped into the house. But everything went fine. Troy, I've known you a long time, ever since you were little. You're a good kid. Fathers can sense that, believe me. The only way you won't make it out alive is if got her pregnant. Or if you got her hooked on drugs," he added as an afterthought. Troy chuckled and looked down at his feet.

"My girlfriend is a mathlete. If I ever even suggested the possibility of one of us taking drugs, she would beat me into unconsciousness with a TI-89 graphing calculator, and she would make sure that it was in degree mode, simply because degree mode is 'so much cooler than radian.'" At the look he got from his neighbor, he nodded, "I know, but I can't help loving her absolute nerdiness."

"That's the side of you that her father needs to see," Mr. Davis pointed out, running a hand through his hair, "The side that loves his daughter because of her little quirks. Fathers just want what's best for their children. Don't worry about impressing him, Troy. Just make sure that you're being yourself. Act how you act around your girlfriend." Troy's eyes widened.

"I think that might get me killed."

-

-

"Troy, thank goodness you're home!" Lucille rushed at her son from upstairs, a laundry basket full of dirty clothes clutched in her arm. "I want to do a few loads before tomorrow so that we all have clean clothes to wear, but I can't find your dress pants anywhere." Dropping the large basket onto the floor, Troy's mother yanked the elastic band from her hair and began forming the silky redness into a ponytail. "I sorted through all of the clothes on your floor and I went through all of the hampers and I just can't find them. Do you know where they are? I know you wore them a few weeks ago to Uncle Leo's birthday dinner, but I can't remember if I washed them or not." Troy smiled, throwing his mom a slightly bewildered look.

"Mom, we're going to a barbeque…at Gabriella's house. I do not need to wear formal dress pants. I'm pretty sure that as long as I'm wearing pants I'll be within the dress code." Stepping on the heels of his sneakers, he kicked both of his shoes into the closet and hung his keys up on the hook beside the front door. Lucille gave her son a pointed look and held his hand up. "Hey, I'm just saying." Scooting around his mother, he began ascending the stairs, the strap of his backpack digging into his shoulder.

"Well, while I'm sure that your girlfriend appreciates your total disregard for the necessity of clothing, I'm also sure that her father won't feel the same way." Troy stopped halfway up the stairs and turned his head to look down at his mother, gripping the railing, a look of disbelief etched into his face.

"Hey, you knew about that? How long have you known, and why didn't you tell me?" Lucille smiled, bending down to grab the laundry basket off the floor. Resting it against her hip, she shrugged and raised an eyebrow.

"Why, Troy Alexander, are you nervous?" Troy turned completely around to face his mother, going down one more step on the staircase.

"Not nervous, just…apprehensive."

"Oh, honey, you have nothing to be nervous about."

"I'm not nervous, I'm _apprehensive_. And even if I were nervous, I would have good reason to be. This is sort of a big deal, don't you think?" Lucille gestured at his shirt.

"Take that off, I want to wash it." As Troy rolled his eyes and peeled off his shirt, he smirked.

"See, this would be the perfect apparel for tomorrow." He gestured at his bare torso and jeans, grinning when his mother shook her head. "Okay, maybe I'll throw on a shirt or something. Maybe." Lucille stuffed the shirt into the basket and then looked back up at Troy.

"While I do appreciate your 'I'm – Too – Cool – To –Talk – To – My – Mom' attitude, please try and remember that I am your mother. I can see that you're trembling inside. You're a nervous wreck." Tilting her head to the side, she smiled sweetly at him. "That's so adorable." Troy's face contorted. "You're so in love with that girl…"

"Whoa, mom, love is…" he hesitated and then mumbled, "…a surprisingly accurate word…"

"Troy," his mother sighed happily, "just promise me that tomorrow you won't–"

Troy cut her off. "Yeah," he chuckled, "I'm going to go upstairs and get some advice from someone who isn't my mom." He made it to the second floor landing before his mother called to him.

"Believe it or not, young man, I do know a thing or two about how fathers react to boyfriends. I had my fair share of boyfriends when I was growing up, and I brought a few of them home to meet grandpa." Troy dropped his backpack onto the hallway floor and leaned against the railing, looking down at his mother.

"Yeah, but mom, you and Gabriella are very different. You were a cheerleader in high school. Bringing home a guy who was a football player or a basketball player or some sort of jock was sort of expected. All due respect to Gabriella, but she's a very…academically oriented person. Her father is not going to be expecting a guy like me, who is not quite as academically oriented. Unless Gabriella gives him a very vivid description of me – which I have a weird feeling she's not going to do – her father is going to be expecting Wally from Chemistry club with glasses half the size of his face and a pocket protector. Not me."

Lucille grinned, "You are one of a kind." Troy smiled, shaking his bangs out of his eyes.

"Yeah, well, a shocker like me could trigger a very dangerous knee-jerk reaction." His face fell. "Oh, knee-jerk, that reminds me. I need to find my sports cup. Do you know where it is?" Shaking her head, Lucille started towards the laundry room.

"You're being ridiculous."

"Do you want grandchildren or not?"

-

-

"Chad, I need help. I need a lot of help. You have to help me. You have to help me a lot. It's required if you wish to hold the title of 'best friend.' I need help, and I need a lot of it, so you have to help me." Troy slowly paced across his bedroom, kicking at stray t-shirts and stomping on several pairs of dirty socks.

"_I'm going to go out on a limb here, buddy, and say that you need my help. Am I close?_" Chad's falsely serious voice caused Troy to groan in frustration, holding the phone away from his ear as he seriously considered hurling it at the wall. "_Hey, calm down. What's up, Hoops?_"

"I'm doing the meet-the-parents routine tomorrow at Gabriella's." There was a brief moment of confused silence on Chad's end of the phone before he snorted out loud.

"_Dude, haven't you sort of done the meeting of the parent? I mean, you've only been to her house, what, ever single weekend. You and her mom are more buddy-buddy than me and Zeke._"

"Yeah, that's the problem, Chad," he exclaimed. "I already met the parent, and now I have to meet the other one!" There was another momentary silence.

"_The other parent? You mean…Gabriella's dad? He exists? He's alive?_" Troy nodded as Chad fired questions into his ear.

"Yes, Gabriella's father. Yes, he exists. Yes, he's alive. Yes, I have to meet him tomorrow at the barbeque, and yes, I have to impress him tomorrow, and yes, I have to charm my way into his heart before he cuts off my ball with a hacksaw, or worse a butter knife, for contaminating his little girl! And yes, I found out all of this literally fifteen minutes ago."

"_Well, isn't that the problem of the century?_" Chad said slowly, and Troy could hear the rapid clicking of an Xbox controller in the background.

"You think so?" Troy exclaimed. "I'm not prepared for this. I was preparing for _weeks_ before I went to dinner with Gabriella and Christina." Chad chuckled into the phone.

"_Well, you're pretty screwed, aren't you?_"

"You're supposed to be helping me, not psyching me out," Troy hissed into the phone, throwing himself backwards onto the bed. His head landed uncomfortably atop a pair of Gabriella's shoes, and he had no idea how they had gotten there. Pushing them onto the floor, he grabbed for his pillow, stuffing it under his head.

"_You called me for helpful and thoughtful and heartfelt advice?_"

"Oh, God, I'm a moron," Troy groaned, slapping a hand to his forehead.

"_I resent that._"

"You're the one who pointed it out to me."

"_Do you want some advice?_"

"Are you going to give me any worthwhile advice?"

"_Maybe_."

"Lay it on me."

"_Because, and only because, you are my brother from another mother–_"

"You didn't just say that."

"–_I will share with you this amazing secret. You should never, ever, be yourself around your girlfriend's father. When he's around, you're the wussy-boy from school who doesn't believe in holding hands before marriage. When he's not, you get to revert back to your typical horny seventeen year old self._"

Troy felt his mouth fall open. "That's the worst advice that I have ever gotten."

"_That advice is golden!_" Chad argued, "_Do you think her father would ever be happy knowing that his precious little girl was going out with a pervert like you?_"

"Thanks," Troy drawled sarcastically, glaring around his room.

"_I can tell that you don't appreciate my wonderful advice._"

"What tipped you off?"

"_Shut up, Hoops. What do you want from me?_"

"I want helpful stuff, stuff that won't cause Gabriella's father to ban me from seeing her ever again."

"_Ehh, if it doesn't work out, there are always other fish in the sea._" Troy's mouth turned down at Chad's words and he sat up, placing his feet firmly on the ground.

"That's not cool. I don't love the other fish."

There was a brief moment a silence. "_You're not allowed to use that word._"

"What word?"

"_Love. You're not entitled to be in love. You're not even entitled to say the word love. You're not entitled to think the word love. Besides, you're not in love. This is just one nibble from a small fish in the sea of life._" Troy frowned.

"How do you know that I'm not in love? Maybe I am in love with my fish. I think I could be in love with her. And so what if I was in love with her? Maybe I don't want to be a fisherman. Maybe I just want to catch one fish and take it home and that's it."

"_Why are we talking about fish?_"

"You brought it up!" Troy yelled, exasperated and beginning to run out of patience.

"_Well, bring it back down. Bury it in the dirt. Cover it up. Forget that we were ever talking about the fishes,_" Chad coaxed, and Troy groaned, throwing himself back onto the bed.

"Doing that won't make me forget that I think I love Gabriella."

"_See, right there, that's good. You only think you love her. You don't really love her. Classic psych-out._"

"I doubt it."

"_You're an idiot._"

"And you give sucky advice!"

"_Suck it, Bolton. My advice rules all. I'd like to hear the other advice that you've gotten, because I can tell you right now that my advice owns Zeke's advice. And don't even bother with Jason or Ryan, because they don't have enough experience. Speaking of which, I need to take my brief moment to mock you, best friend since kindergarten, about your lack of experience. Ha, ha, ha-ha._"

"Are you done now?"

"_Almost. Ah-ha. Ha, ha, ha. Alright, now I'm done._"

"Thank you."

"_Oh, man, I have to go. I'll catch you later, or tomorrow. Whatever comes first._" Troy sat up again slowly, scratching the top of his head.

"Sure, but can I ask you one quick question?"

"_Go for it, man. But make it quick, because my mom is starting to scream._"

"Should I tell her?" There was an extended moment of silence on Chad's end, and Troy could distinctly make out his mother screeching for him in the background.

"_I don't know,_" Chad exhaled. "_Are you sure enough about it where you think you could tell her? Would you be cool with knowing that she might not be…at that place yet?_" Troy scowled.

"Oh, sure, _now_ you decide to be helpful."

"_You're funny, Hoops. Look man, I seriously have to go. I'll catch you later._"

Groaning as the line went dead, Troy slapped his phone closed, tossed it on the bed, and put the palms of his hands to his forehead, pressing firmly. Rolling onto his stomach, he pressed his face into the comforter, inhaling the faint scent of Gabriella's perfume clinging to the fabric. After a moment, he let out a loud, overdramatic yell, muffled and heard a faint knock on his bedroom door.

"Troy, honey, are you going to be alright?"

"Worst advice ever," he called back, "Combined with the most thought-provoking advice ever. I think I'm having some sort of brain seizure. It feels like my brain is turning over in my skull. Remind me next time I need advice about something to call someone who isn't Chad." His mother laughed out loud.

"I could have told you that earlier. Don't go to your friends for advice about your girlfriend's father." Opening the door, she poked her head inside. "Your father is making barbeque ribs for dinner. Is that alright?" Troy nodded tiredly into his mattress. "Maybe you could ask him for some advice. He is your father, and he has been in your position before." Rolling over and sitting up, Troy shook his head.

"I'd feel weird asking dad. He doesn't like Gabriella very much."

"That is not true. He was just being a typical wary parent who was concerned about his son's focus. He happens to think that Gabriella has been a wonderful influence on you. And even if he did happen to dislike her a little, it doesn't mean that he'd give you bad advice. He'd still tell you everything he knows. Even though all he would say would be to be yourself, just like I was trying to tell you earlier." Her eyebrows were raised in a superior manner and Troy rolled his eyes.

"Alright, I will ask dad for advice later, if I still feel the need, okay?" Lucille shook her head, chuckling softly. As she moved to exit the room again, Troy cleared his throat and scratched at the back of his neck. "Hey, uh, mom? I'm going to throw a major cheesy question your way, alright? But I'm only going to do it if you swear not to go all 'my baby boy' on me." Lucille stepped back inside, leaning up against the doorframe and crossing her arms.

"I promise, I won't."

"How did you know when you were in love with dad?" Suddenly, her eyes widened and a hand flew to her mouth. He spotted the wetness in her eyes and threw out an accusatory finger and a groan. "You promised, mom!" She shook her head, blinking her eyes rapidly.

"I didn't say anything! I didn't say…anything." As his eyes narrowed at her, she held up her hands. "It's fine. I'm fine." Lacing her hands together, she tapped them gently against her nose. "How did I know when I was in love with your father? I didn't really," she confessed. "It wasn't like one day I woke up and said to myself, 'You know, I think I love Jack.' It happened over time. Love at first sight is hard to come by when you've been seeing someone for six months." Troy smiled, looking down at his feet.

"Can you be falling in love with someone for a long time, and completely not realize it until the day before you have to go to a barbeque at her house and be forced to meet and impress her dad?" Laughing slightly, his mother tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I suppose it's possible." Suddenly, a shrill beep rang out and Troy's hand flew to his phone, holding it up to check the caller I.D. Looking back at his mother, he raised an eyebrow pleadingly and she nodded. "I get it. When Gabriella calls, it is to be a one-on-one conversation at all times. There should be no outside listeners." He opened his mouth again. "I know, I know, this conversation never reaches your father's ears." He grinned as she backed out of the room, pulling the door shut behind her.

Flipping open his phone, he fell back on his bed, his head crashing down onto his pillow, "Troy Bolton speaking."

"_You're a liar._"

"You're a jerkface."

"_Hey!_"

"Sorry, I thought we were playing a name game. What's wrong?"

"_You said that you would call in a half hour. It's been forty-five minutes, making you the jerkface._"

"Oh, that _really_ makes me want to talk to you."

"_Don't be mean to me. I'm already in a bad mood. You're supposed to make my bad mood go away. Woo me over the phone. Can you do that? Is that even possible?_"

"I can try."

"_My dad went psycho-police-chief on me. He was all 'who was that boy' and 'why are you so late' and I was like 'ugh.'_"

"Nice."

"_Make me happy, Wildcat._"

"Your dad won't–"

"_No, don't talk about my dad,_" Gabriella moaned, "_Talk about you. What are you doing?_"

"Me? I'm lying on my bed and I'm talking to you."

"_What are you wearing?_"

"What am I wearing?"

"_Yeah, what are you wearing? I need some visual reference._" Shaking his head, Troy glanced down at himself.

"I'm wearing jeans and socks. They're white."

"_That's it?_" came her surprised voice.

"That's it. Well, and underwear, of course. They're red, boxers, of course."

"_What about a shirt? Or did you go all Hulk and rip it to pieces._"

"No, my mom wanted to wash it, and I was too lazy to put on another one. Oh, by the way, tomorrow isn't formal or anything is it? Because my mom is trying to get me to wear dress pants, and I keep telling her that I don't have to, but she doesn't believe me." Gabriella laughed into the phone, humming in Troy's ears.

"_Troy, it's a backyard barbeque. As long as you're wearing pants you'll meet the dress code._"

"That's _exactly_ what I told her!"

"_Well, maybe you should wear a shirt, too, for my dad's benefit. And mine too, because if my dad ever catches you without a shirt on, it'll mean that he'll see…something that he probably won't want near his daughter._"

"Is that insinuating that I have an amazingly sexy body?"

"_No. It's insinuating that my father doesn't want me hanging out with half-naked people, regardless of whether or not they're amazingly sexy._"

"Which I am."

"_Which you are._"

"Don't feel intimidated though. You're sexy, too."

"_Sexy enough to be forgotten?_"

"It was only fifteen minutes! And it wasn't totally my fault anyway. I made the searing mistake of calling Chad and asking for advice."

"_No!_" Gabriella yelped, panic laced in her voice. "_You're kidding, right? Do not listen to anything that he says! I've heard his advice, alright, and I know that he thinks it would be a good idea for you to pretend to be a total gentleman tomorrow just to get on my dad's good side. It's not. Please, please, please, I am begging you. Do not act like a gentleman._"

"I'm incredibly confused."

"_Troy, please, just be yourself tomorrow,_" she begged. "_Troy, I fell…fell for you,_" she stammered. "_I want Daddy to like you for you, too. Please, don't act like someone you're not, because then when you get comfortable and start acting like yourself, my dad is going to flip out. And then he might actually end up cutting off your…part._"

"I hate you for doing this to me."

-

-

"Troy, it is time for dinner! This is your last chance. The ribs are on the table. Come on, you've been talking on that phone for nearly two hours. Tell Gabriella that you'll call her back later." Troy rolled his eyes, sitting up slowly.

"Hey, Gabriella, I have to go eat dinner. My dad made ribs tonight, and you _know_ how weak I am when it comes to ribs." Gabriella chuckled into the phone, and Troy groaned inwardly, cursing the adorable giggle that was making it incredibly hard to tell her goodbye.

"_You are powerless to the barbeque. Don't worry, my mom called me a few minutes ago, too. Feel free to go pig out._" Troy grinned, running a hand through his hair.

"Thank you for the consent. I'll call you again later, okay, after dinner?"

"_Sounds like a plan, Wildcat._" A loud voice called out in the background on Gabriella's end and he heard her groan. "_Hey, that's a surprise. My dad wants to know who I'm talking to_."

"He's just being a dad, Gabriella."

"_Well, I'm being a teenager and getting annoyed at him for prying into my personal life._"

"He's not totally prying."

"_Yeah, yeah. Go eat ribs._"

"Fine, but don't hang up angry."

"_I'm not angry. I'm just nervous. What if he doesn't like you?" _Troy's eyes bulged and he tightened his grip on the phone.

"What's wrong with you?" he yelped. "You're not allowed to say stuff like that to me right before we hang up! You're not allowed to say stuff like that to me in general! You're supposed to be sitting there going 'Oh, Troy, don't worry. Daddy is going to love you.' And then you can hang up."

"_I'm sorry,_" she apologized, "_but I'm allowed to be nervous, aren't I? It's really important that you and my dad get along, because you two are, like, the two most important guys in my life, and if you don't get along… I mean, I wasn't so worried before, but then you told me that you were asking Chad for advice, and now I'm really, really worried._"

"Hey, hey, calm down," he soothed. "I promise that I won't listen to Chad's advice. I swear it."

"_On what?_"

"I swear it on Chad's afro. If I listen to his advice tomorrow, I will have to risk my life attempting to shave it off." Gabriella giggled again and Troy smiled to himself.

"Troy, I swear," Jack's voice thundered down the hallway. "If you don't come to the table now, you're not getting dinner."

"_Did I get you in trouble?_" Gabriella's panicked voice whispered in his ear. "_I'm sorry. I'll let you go eat dinner now. Call me later; maybe we can hang out, or something._"

"Count on it."

"_Talk to you later, then. Bye Troy._"

"Bye," he said softly, closing his phone as the line went dead. Placing it down on the nightstand beside his bed, his eyes drifted over the framed photograph of his girlfriend. "I love you," he whispered. Then, he nodded his head. "Yeah, that won't be hard at all."

"Troy!"

"I'm coming!" he called, jogging down the hallway and sliding into the dining room. "I'm here." Plopping down into a chair, he grinned, "Ah, loaded with barbeque sauce." As he reached for a rib, he glanced around the table, noticing the look that his father was shooting him. "What?" he asked, shifting his eyes between his parents. "Do I have something on my face?" Suddenly, Jack chuckled and looked down at his plate, stabbing a forkful of coleslaw and lifting it to his mouth. Frowning slightly, Troy picked his rib up again, taking a bite out of the side. His eyes happened to catch his mother gesturing at his father. Jack put his fork down, reaching for his glass.

"You know," he said thoughtfully, "Just the other day, I was thinking about the very moment when I realized that I was in love with your mother." Troy's eyes snapped to meet his father's as the rib he held between his fingers went tumbling to his plate, and then darted accusingly to his mother as she rolled her eyes.

"You _told him_?" he hissed, angrily wiping his hands on a napkin as his cheeks flushed. "You said that you wouldn't tell him!" Lucille shrugged, chewing a mouthful of salad before shooting her husband a pointed look.

"She didn't tell me anything," Jack confessed. "I drew it out of her. I asked her how you were feeling about tomorrow, and she mentioned that you were a little nervous." Troy glowered at his mother.

"I am _not_ nervous. I am _slightly_ _apprehensive_."

"You're nervous," Jack said forcefully. "Don't deny it. And I suppose that suddenly realizing that you're in love only makes it that much more intimidating." Troy poked at the rib on his plate.

"It might not be in love," he pointed out. "Maybe it's just…gas."

"Gas makes you think you love your girlfriend?"

"No," Troy muttered dully, sucking a large drop of barbeque sauce off of his finger. "It's not fair. I shouldn't have to deal with two major relationship breakthroughs within a twenty-four hour period. That's just cruel. And meeting her dad is a big enough deal. I don't need all the pressure of having to be all mushy and talk about my feelings. Ugh." He grimaced, "I'm not looking forward to _that_ talk." Lucille raised her eyebrow and exchanged a bemused look with her husband.

"You're _not_ looking forward to the moment when you tell your girlfriend that you love her?"

"No, I'm not looking forward to the moment when I tell Chad that I told my girlfriend that I either love her or have a severe case of gas."

-

-

**Author's Note:** Don't throw anything just yet. Just give me a chance to explain, 'cause I swear that I have a reason for my searing lack of updates. For those of you who haven't visited my profile lately, I'll explain further. Due to my doctor's incompetence, I never received the vaccine for the Chicken Pox. So, during the last two months of school before crunch time for finals, I was home sick for two weeks with a fever of 102 degrees. It was not pleasant. I don't have any reason for my lack of updates during the summer, except for a tiny, itty-bitty case of writer's block centering around _My Guys_. My hope is that the reason I couldn't get my thought to focus on _My Guys_ was because of _Dabbles with Daddy_. It has been jumping around inside my head for a while now, demanding to be written. Most likely, this story will be around three chapters long.

Reviews are welcomed and constructive criticism is appreciated!


	2. Chapter Two

**Dabbles with Daddy**

"Troy, are you going to be getting out of the car anytime soon?" His head snapped up and he glanced out the window, noting the familiar figure emerging from the house to his right. Watching his parents head up the front walk, he shoved open the car door and hopped out onto the grass. Slamming the door shut, he followed behind them, grinning as Gabriella came hurtling down the front steps.

"Hello," she greeted quickly, dodging around his parents and throwing herself into his arms. "Oh, thank _God_ you're here," she exclaimed, wrapping her arms around his neck, squeezing him tightly.

"Hey," he chucked, pressing a soft kiss to the side of her head, just above her ear. "You look extremely hot today. Is there any special occasion? Oh wait, that's right. I'm here." Gabriella giggled, giving him an extra squeeze. "But seriously, you look hot."

"You always know what to say, don't you, Troy? But this is important. You have to help me. Everybody else is already here, and if you don't get back there and help control Chad's blabbering mouth, my father is going to end up sending me to Catholic school with only girls and mandatory uniforms and scary nuns with yardsticks!" Arms still wrapped around his neck, she lightly tugged on his right ear with her left hand. "You know what that means," she whispered worriedly.

"Yeah," he murmured into her ear. "No more between-class make outs." Giggling, Gabriella pulled back and nuzzled her nose against his. "Man, I would miss those. A lot." Brushing his fingers over her sides, Troy drew her closer.

"It's worse than that, Troy. It's no more plays and no more basketball games and no more after-parties and no more assemblies and no more school picnics and no more secret-hideout lunches. And it's more jealously and more worrying and more conflicting schedules and I don't want Chad's big mouth to be the reason that you break up with me." Wringing her hands frantically, she pushed him towards her front door. "God, Troy, why aren't you back there duct taping his mouth closed? Go and keep me out of Catholic school! Go, go, go!" Troy grinned as she shoved her hands weakly against his chest.

"Don't get your panties in a twist," he teased, using one of her mother's expressions that she frequently expressed her distaste for. "I'll save you from big, bad Chad." She narrowed her eyes at him.

"That's not funny, Troy." Chewing on her bottom lip hesitantly, she let one of her hands come to rest flat against his chest. "How are you?" she asked, her voice suddenly much softer. "You're alright? You're not too nervous or anything?" Pulling her into a hug, he ran his hand soothingly up and down her back.

"Do I look nervous?" She nodded her head. "Yeah, I'm a little nervous. But you don't have to worry. After hanging me out to dry, my mother forced my dad's advice onto me, so I have some advice worth listening to. I am going to be myself. How does that sound?" Gabriella smiled, nudging her nose against his chest.

"It's better than Chad's advice." They disentangled themselves from the brief hug, entwining their fingers as they headed into Gabriella's house, moving down the hallway into the kitchen, slowly making their way into the back yard. Pausing behind the island stool, Troy grinned at the sight of Christina bent down in front of the oven, carefully removing a white dish.

"I smell…salsa, cream cheese, and shredded cheddar cheese." Christina jumped slightly, nudging the over door closed with her foot before she turned around. Beaming at the two teenagers, she placed the steaming dish down on a potholder before removing her oven mitts.

Rooting through her kitchen drawers for a spoon, she chuckled, "It's not shredded anymore. It's all melted together now. And what kind of hostess would I be if I didn't serve tortilla chips and taco dip? Besides, Gabriella told me that you loved it the last time that I brought it to your house." Sticking the spoon into the dip, she handed the mitts to Gabriella, gesturing towards the dish.

"She's right," Troy smiled at his girlfriend, "I made a pig out of myself by practically eating the entire dish." Pulling on the mitts, Gabriella giggled, bumping her hip against his.

"No, you made a pig of yourself by eating a burger and a hotdog and, like, twelve helpings of macaroni salad _after_ you ate the whole dish of taco dip."

Scooting around her daughter and the island, Christina leaned over and gave Troy a quick kiss on his cheek. "How are you, Troy? I hope you're not too nervous. Gabriella mentioned that she sprung Joseph on you just yesterday." As her mother sent a pointed look in her direction, Gabriella shrugged her shoulders.

"I did it for his own good, and for his sanity!" she defended, but was brushed off by a wave of her mother's hand.

"I couldn't believe it, but I guess she learned from example. I didn't really talk about him much with anybody either." Clasping her hands together, she grinned. "I'm just happy that he's finally with us." Troy nodded, accepting the bowl of chips that she handed him, chucking as she began shooing them towards the sliding doors that lead to the patio. "Go on. Everybody is already outside. Your parents just went, and everyone else is sitting under the tree."

As he opened the door for Gabriella, he spotted his parents standing on the edge of the lawn. They were being approached by someone he didn't recognize and could only assume was Joseph Montez. Feeling what he believed to be his stomach twisting around itself into a figure eight knot, he gulped loudly and placed the chip bowl down on a table. Gabriella turned around as she pulled off the oven mitts, smiling softly at him.

"Everything is going to be fine," she whispered, reaching over to grab his hand. "And even if it isn't, it won't matter. 'Cause he can't tell me who to date." She smiled again. "He thinks he can, but he really can't." Lamely, she attempted to wink before resorting to holding her left eye open as she blinked her right. Troy chuckled lightly, lifting her hand up to his mouth and pressing a gentle kiss to her wrist.

"I must be crazy."

Gabriella cocked her head, "Why?"

"I actually believe you." Rolling her eyes, she began pulling him towards the triangle that his parents and Joseph had formed. He pulled her back. "Hey, uh, what does your dad do? Like, does he teach tae kwon do? Is he a cop? Oh my God, is he in the army? Is he in the navy? Oh my fucking God, I'm going to die today aren't I? It may take him a few hours to figure it out, but he'll kill me and pass it off as an accident. He _accidentally_ snapped my neck while showing me a high kick or something. He was showing me his gun and _forgot _that it was loaded and then carried on to fire eighty-five rounds into my amazingly toned body." Gabriella giggled, squeezing his hand tightly.

"Aside from the fact that somebody's a little into themselves, my dad works in a cubicle, Nervous Nelly. He punches numbers and whatnot all day long. He's not a black belt in karate and he doesn't know jujitsu, I promise. He doesn't have a license to carry a gun, and he doesn't have a standard issue K-Bar. He can't hurt you." She paused. "Well, not physically, anyway." Troy tilted his head backwards and groaned, resisting slightly as Gabriella tugged him over to where his parents were standing, shaking hands with her father.

"…and this is my wife, Lucille. I don't know where my… Oh," Jack said animatedly, turning around, "This is my son, Troy." Troy could feel his palms beginning to sweat as his parents stepped apart, giving him a clear view of his girlfriend's father for the first time. Gabriella was looking between the two males, grinning as she prayed internally that Troy would keep a level head. As he stared up at Joseph, Troy mused that he would have made a great interrogator for the army. He possessed outstanding ability to inspire fear by simply being present. He was a large man – Troy guessed he stood at about six foot four – with menacingly broad shoulders. His hair was dark and tousled, and he had the same deep brown eyes as Gabriella. Flexing his fingers within her grip, Troy looked glanced down at his girlfriend before forcing himself to smile.

"Hi, Mr. Montez," he stammered, wincing at the slight squeak in his voice. "It's nice to meet you." Joseph reached over and grabbed Troy's outstretched hand, smiling down at him.

"Troy Bolton," he said in a voice much less menacing than Troy had imagined. It was almost jolly. "I've heard a lot about you in the past three days." Troy ground his teeth anxiously. "You and Gabriella must be extremely close if she's already got so many stories to tell." Nodding as his hand dropped back down to his side, he squeezed Gabriella's hand tightly.

"You could say that, sir."

"Don't be silly, Troy," Gabriella chided, much louder than necessary. Returning her gaze to her father, she blinked. "Of course we're close, daddy." She beamed, swinging her arm, swinging Troy's in the process.

Troy noticed Joseph's eyes drawn down to their entwined hands.

"Troy's my boyfriend."

For a brief moment, Troy was convinced that the world had started spinning in the opposite direction on its axis. Joseph's eyes were locked on Gabriella's and Troy felt his knees beginning to lock. There was a lightheaded feeling settling into the back of his skull, and bright white ridges were outlining everything in his sight as breathing became difficult. It felt as though his tongue was swelling in his mouth, completely blocking the passage of oxygen into his lungs.

"Well," Gabriella's father said, somewhat stiffly, "It's nice to meet you, Troy." Troy nodded slowly, bracing himself for further onslaught. It never came, as Joseph turned away from him and headed back towards the table where Sharpay's parents were seated, talking animatedly to Taylor's mother and father. He sat. He took a large gulp from his beer.

"Are you okay?" Gabriella asked quietly, moving to stand in front of her boyfriend. His dazed look was slightly frightening, as was the way his body was beginning to sway from side to side. She put a hand to his face. He grabbed onto her shoulders.

"I need to sit down."

-

-

Sharpay was the only one sitting in a plastic chair, her feet curled under her body. Everyone else had seated themselves beneath the tree, scattered around the patches of grass.

"Bolton, it's nice of you to join us!" Chad was stretched out on the lawn with his head resting on Taylor's knee. He reached up and slapped Troy's hand. "We've been sitting here watching Gabriella have a nervous breakdown because she thought that you were ditching or something. And now that you have arrived," he snorted. "I've gotta admit… That was pretty anticlimactic." Taylor shot him an impressed look as he jerked his head in Joseph's direction. "What – did the dude say ten words to you? And you were worried. Psh." Troy glared, flopping down onto the grass, leaning his back against the tree trunk. Gabriella lowered herself onto the ground beside him, wrapping her arm around his and leaning her head against his shoulder.

"That wasn't the end," Troy muttered darkly. "He was all 'It's nice to meet you.' But it was the cynical kind of nice. The kind of nice where he's thinking in his head about how it will be fun to cut my balls off and stuff them down my throat, but in the meantime he'll smile and shake my hand." He frowned. "Today is going to be a bad day." Gabriella rolled her eyes, but smiled up at him anyway.

"And people call me a drama queen," Sharpay muttered to herself.

"You know, he probably doesn't even want to acknowledge the fact that you have a penis," Taylor said thoughtfully, "Much less testicles, which would be the makers of sperm, which he _really_ wouldn't want to think about you having, because that would mean thinking about you getting Gabriella pregnant, which would mean thinking about you and Gabriella doing the nasty, which no parent would want to think about."

Chad snorted, "So, you can say penis and testicles and sperm, but you can't say sex? 'Doing the nasty?' You're kidding, right?" Gabriella's face was slowly getting hotter and hotter, and she kept glancing towards the table full of adults.

"Maybe I just don't want to think about Troy and Gabriella having sexual intercourse," Taylor glowered, gesturing angrily at her two friends. Sharpay was slowly beginning to breakdown in a fit of giggles, and her chair nearly tipped backwards before Zeke grabbed onto the front leg.

Gabriella cleared her throat, "Can we stop talking about my dad and whether or not he wants to think about Troy's penis and whether or not people want to think about Troy and I having sex? And can everyone please refrain from saying the phrases 'Troy's penis' and 'Troy's testicles' for the rest of the day? That would be great." Kelsi giggled lightly and nudged her glasses up higher on her nose.

"Why?" she joked, "Would your dad be nervous to hear all of your friends talking about your boyfriend like that? Should we refrain from insinuating that you two are having sex?" Gabriella fake laughed and then narrowed her eyes at her friend.

"Yes. It would be wonderful if my father didn't mistakenly believe that Troy and I are having sex. Now can we all stop?" Troy pulled her closer to his body, wishing that she'd thought twice about inviting their friends to the barbeque. His friends weren't about to make this easy on him, and it seemed like they were content to let her go down with him. Easing his hands up to her shoulders, he pressed his fingers into her muscles, rubbing in slow circles. She was incredibly tense, and he slowly eased her back against his chest. Gabriella's breaths were slowly regulating, and her eyes flickered shut slowly.

"Wait, Bolton, you haven't tapped that yet?" Zeke smirked, taking a large gulp from a red plastic cup. "Dude…" For one of the first times in his life, Troy saw Gabriella scowl. Leveling his stare at his friend, he raised an eyebrow, challenging him to continue. Taking note, Taylor cleared her throat.

"I think it's time for a subject change," she announced.

"Oh, I got one," Chad grinned, turning to face Troy from his position on the ground. "So I'm watching this music video the other day, right? And this chick pops up." Taylor raised an eyebrow. "And she's practically naked and grinding against this guy, and all I can think is how much she looks like Carolina." Troy snorted and Gabriella glanced up at him.

"Wait, wait. Who's Carolina? No ex-girlfriend stories. I cannot handle them right now."

Chad brushed it off with a wave of his hand, "Carolina's my cousin. So, anyway, I'm going over this video again and again and I'm like, 'This is freaky.' So I text her, right, and I'm like, 'There's a girl in this video that looks just like you.' And she's like 'Oh, you mean the Let's Do It video?' So I'm figuring that people have mentioned it before, but then she goes and tell me that's it her!" Troy sat up straighter.

"No fucking way."

"Way."

Troy snorted. "Your cousin is a music video whore now?"

Chad nodded. "I was like," he paused and gestured wildly with his hands, "What the fuck?"

"That's a fucking riot."

"Okay," Gabriella whispered furiously, "Much like we cannot say certain phrases today, we also cannot say certain words. Got it?" Slapping Troy's arm, she hissed, "You're supposed to be freaking out. Now focus. Freak out."

"I thought you wanted me to _not_ freak out. I thought I was supposed to be calm."

"Yeah," Chad piped through a mouthful of cheese doodle. "I thought he was supposed to be being himself." Gabriella groaned.

"He _is_ supposed to be being himself. But he's supposed to be being his normal self like when he's with me. If he's himself when he's with you I'm totally screwed." Chad nodded in understanding.

"Oh, so you want him to be a pu–"

"Do I have to make you an effing list of words?" she snarled. Troy's eyes widened slightly and he pulled her into a hug, rubbing his hands up and down her arms. Pressing a reassuring kiss to the side of her head, he gave her a gentle squeeze. Sighing softly, Gabriella let her arms fall limply across Troy's stomach and snuggled against his body. "I'm being a bitch."

"Yes, you are." Taylor glared down at her boyfriend. "I mean," he corrected hastily, "You're just nervous." She nodded curtly. Tangling his fingers with Gabriella's again, Troy bent down to kiss her forehead. She leaned into him.

"He's watching you, you know," Sharpay muttered. Troy's head snapped up and he craned his neck to get a good look at Joseph. "If you're that scared of him, then just forget it," she suggested. Troy frowned at her.

"I can't just forget it. He's my girlfriend's father. He's kind of an essential part of the equation."

"Then man up and make him like you. You have no problem doing it with _everyone else_. Fuck, Bolton, you won over Ms. Darbus. I think you can win over Gabriella's dad."

"Words, please!" Gabriella's panicked voice rang out.

"Leave him alone, Shar," Ryan piped, tossing a balled up napkin at her feet. "Remember how nervous you were at your first audition? Well today is his opening night, and he's got the toughest critic sitting front row, dead center." Gabriella laughed at the analogy and relaxed slightly, pulling Troy's arm closer to her. His solid muscles melded to her body, and she felt like a puzzle piece, fitting snugly in the proper position.

"Yeah, and the critic prefers murder mysteries to romantic comedies, too," Zeke joked before popping a pretzel into his mouth. "You know; the kind where some unsuspecting teen ends up missing body parts. Sometimes, it can be body parts that are necessary for reproduction or pleasure." Troy glared at him and casually looped his fingers around Gabriella's wrist.

"Two words: Word I'm not allowed to say. Off."

Gabriella grinned at him, "See? Was that so hard?"

"No, actually, it wasn't. I think it helped with the dramatic effect." Gently, Troy nuzzled his nose against Gabriella's ear, confident that Joseph couldn't see him at the moment.

"It's time for subject change number two. How many rubber duckies have you taken a bath with in your lifetime?"

"One. But I used it multiple times."

"I had a different ducky for every day of the week. They all had jewel incrusted collars. And they all made different types of quacking sounds." Sharpay looked up from her sparkling nail file. "Why do you all look so shocked? If I was going to have custom make Pull-Ups, I was going to have a custom made rubber ducky. Le duh." Ryan narrowed his eyes and stared angrily at the lawn.

"Yeah, and you wouldn't let me even touch _one_ of them. You wouldn't even let me touch one on my _birthday_. Well, our birthday, but that's irrelevant. All I wanted was to hold the Monday ducky. But _no_." Sharpay rolled her eyes.

"The Monday ducky was my favorite ducky. He had the collar with the diamonds. He always stayed in the case. You could have held the Thursday ducky, but you were too stubborn." Ryan glared at her.

"But the Monday ducky was the only yellow one. The Thursday one was blue. It was bizarre and unnatural."

"It went better with the pearls! The yellow would have looked _hideous_."

"Like your shoes."

"What?"

"Nothing."

Jason sat up straight suddenly. "Why do Ebert and Roeper want to see Troy?"

-

-

"So, what types of things are Sharpay and Ryan into?" Joseph asked politely, leaning back slightly in his chair. Vance grinned.

"Our little princess loves the theater. Singing, dancing, acting… She pretty much loves it all. In fact, she and her brother have been the stars in all of the school musicals since they were in kindergarten. Well," he chuckled, patting his wife's hand, "All except Twinkle Towne." The table tittered with light laughter, and the timer that Christina had set in the kitchen beeped once.

Joseph smiled friendlily, "What happened with Twinkle Towne?"

Smiles faded around the table and Sharpay's mother cleared her throat awkwardly. "Well, Troy and Gabriella beat them out for the lead. They came out of nowhere, but they were phenomenal." Joseph glanced over and Christina to find her nodding. "We have a few copies of it at home, on DVD. You can have one, if you'd like," she offered.

Christina smiled gratefully, "Actually, Ryan gave copies to Gabriella and Troy after closing night. It has all of the performances on it, Joseph. It was really nicely done." Joseph was surprised to say the least. Why it had never been mentioned to him was a mystery, and he was slightly hurt at the exclusion. Glancing over at Gabriella and her friends, he watched as Troy kissed the side of his daughter's head.

"I thought that Troy was more into sports," he admitted, glancing in Jack's direction. "From what I've heard, he's a big fan of basketball. I didn't peg him as the," he hesitated, "theater-boy type." Jack smiled and raised his beer in Joseph's direction.

"Neither did I. He was always the playmaker." He took a sip and shook his head slowly. "Teenagers, I guess. They live to throw curveballs. Maybe they sensed that we were beginning to understand them and they panicked," he joked. Christina jumped in.

"I know what you mean. Gabriella never sang in public, except for church choir. And the one time that she tried a solo, I swear that her eyes rolled back in her head before she hit the ground. And now she's singing in front of all these people, and acting! I thought I was going to watch a decathlon competition, and suddenly things are exploding, and I'm watching my daughter dancing across the stage, singing at the top of her lungs to a boy in a basketball uniform." Joseph fought painfully against the reflex to let his eye dart towards his daughter. Taylor's mother nodded and sat up straighter in her chair.

"Kids will surprise you." Placing down her napkin, she laid her hands flat on the table. "You want to talk about curveballs? I've got a curveball for you. Teenaged daughter; has been an A plus student since kindergarten. She's been in at least seven of the school's health education programs and knows the dangers of different…activities." Denise's shoulders tensed. "So imagine my surprise when I come home on a lunch break one Saturday and find her in bed with a teenaged delinquent!" Slowly, she inhaled and flexed her fingers. "Chad's a nice boy," she backtracked. "But…teenaged delinquent is the best way to describe him sometimes. He's a troublemaker. He'll be the one to spike the punch at prom."

Joseph felt his foot twitching beneath the table, and his stomach knotted.

He saw the way that Troy was greeted by the puffy haired boy.

They were clearly very close friends.

They could only be so different.

-

-

"Why does he keep staring at me? I mean, I know this is his first real look at me, but I don't look like a crack addict, or anything. And I don't look like a psychopath. I just look like a guy. So why is he looking at me like that? And why is he looking at me like that so often?" Troy glanced nervously over at Gabriella as he watched Joseph eye him up and down several times from across the yard again before turning back to his conversation. She scooted a bit closer and grabbed his arm. She felt the slight shake reverberating throughout his body and gently bit down on her bottom lip.

"Did I…?" she hesitated. "Did I mention to you that he had no idea who you were until I introduced you earlier?" Troy's eyes bulged slightly and he turned frantically to Gabriella, grabbing onto her arm as well.

"_What?_" he hissed softly. "What do you mean by _that_? He had _no_ idea who I was? You didn't tell him that we're…"

"…going out? No, I didn't." She smiled weakly, "I thought you might like to be here when I told him. And you were here when I told him. I think he took it well, too."

"Oh man," he groaned. "You know what that means don't you? It means that they're sitting over there talking about us. Your dad is currently trying to extract information from my parents. Oh, shi– word I'm not allowed to say, word I'm not allowed to say. My dad lives to complain about me!" His eyes widened. "What if he tells him that we've kissed? What if he tells them about that time when we were in the pool and we made out a little?" His voice lowered drastically, but they hysteria remained. "What if he tells him that I have condoms?" Gabriella's brow wrinkled in confusion.

"Why do you have condoms?"

His cheeks flushed, "Apparently, 'just in case.'" Gabriella snorted into her hand and then blushed deeply.

"Your dad…?" He nodded. "Oh, that's weird, and incredibly embarrassing in so many ways. But anyway, you need to calm down. My dad isn't an idiot. He knows what boyfriends and girlfriends do. He's not going to buy that you don't believe in premarital kissing." He winced.

"I was so hoping…"

"Okay, dude? You need to calm down." Chad jumped up and grabbed at Troy's shoulder. "I'm taking you to get a drink, and I'm going to demand that for point two seconds you do _not_ think about Joseph Montez and, or, condoms." Troy held on to Gabriella as Chad attempted to pull him away before eventually letting go. "Gabriella, I swear that I will bring him right back. Now tell him to be a good little boy and stand up."

"Troy, be a good little boy and–"

"Hush, you."

"Thank you, Gabriella."

-

-

Gabriella gazed longingly across her back yard as Troy and Chad bust out laughing over the table of soda bottles. Suddenly, Troy jumped slightly and looked over Chad's shoulder at Joseph's back before silencing his chuckles. Taylor leaned over.

"Close your mouth," she whispered. "You're getting drool all over yourself." Gabriella started, her eyes snapping away from Troy.

"I am _not_… Okay, so I am, but it's totally not my fault." She pouted. "He's yummy." Taylor giggled, placing her hand under her chin and tilting her head. "Don't look at me like that. You _know _that he's yummy. And it's so cute how hard he's trying to impress my dad." She frowned slightly, "The dad who is totally ignoring him." Her eyes widened. "Oh my God, what if he hates him? What if he thinks that he's a jerk? What if he says that I can't see him anymore? I don't have enough nerve to lie to my parents all the time when I sneak out on dates."

Taylor snorted. "You are so in love that it's getting funny." Gabriella stared at her wordlessly. Looking between Taylor and the floor, she gulped.

"…what?"

"Well, you are."

"I am not."

"You are, too. And please don't start the 'I'm not in love with him' game, because you know that he'll hear and get all offended and then you'll have to have that awkward 'I really do love you but I just said I didn't so that my friends wouldn't make fun of me' talk and then it won't be romantic when he tells you that he loves you too." Gabriella bit down on her bottom lip and glanced over Taylor's shoulder at her boyfriend's back. Leaning closer to her best friend, she exhaled slowly.

"You really think…? You really think that that's what it is?" Taylor titled her head in confusion and reached over to touch Gabriella's hand.

"What _what_ is?"

"The feeling," Gabriella explained, wrapping her arms around her stomach. "Like when he hugs me, and I get all flushed. Or like when he kisses me and I kind of feel like I just ate one hundred butterflies. Or when I look at him…" she shook her head slowly, "…and I never want to look away." Taylor rolled her eyes and grinned.

"Ryan, Ryan, come over here for a second." Slowly, the blond climbed towards the two girls, carefully avoiding coming in between Kelsi and Jason's heated debate about movie soundtracks. "Can you please tell Gabriella that she's in love with Troy?" Ryan's eyebrows rose and Gabriella groaned, burying her face in her hands.

"Thanks for the girl-to-girl privacy, Taylor." Ryan smiled.

"Everybody already knows, so there's really nothing private about it. I mean, if you could see what we all see, there would be no doubt in your mind right now. You love him, he loves you… It's actually rather sickening." He straightened his back. "Look left; Troy and Gabriella making out. Look right; Troy and Gabriella ogling each other. Look up; Troy and Gabriella hugging. Look down; Troy and Gabriella cuddling under a blanket. I can't get away from it!" He paused, and then bowed slightly. "And that, ladies, is why I have been the only male lead at East High since kindergarten. Well, except last year when Troy and Gabriella slopped their eyesex all over my beautiful stage and wooed the crap out of Ms. Darbus." Taylor laughed and re-crossed her legs.

Troy appeared on Gabriella's other side, offering her his cup as he sat down. She took a sip before handing it back, giggling as his hand brushed over the back of his neck. Her eyes focused on his and she tried to see what Ryan saw, and what he claimed everybody else saw. He grinned back at her, his thumb slowly caressing the underside of her wrist. And she saw it.

Taylor smiled at Ryan, "Eyesex?"

"Eyesex."

-

-

**Author's Note:** So... It's been like two months. And, as we're learning in our health course, I am taking responsibility for this. It's just that school has been really crazy and all of my teachers give insane amounts of homework and then I got stupid writer's block and it's TOTALLY not my fault. (Shout out to those who love irony. You know who you are. ;) )

Oh, and something to clear up for anybody that was confused: Ebert and Roeper are film critics.

Back to my apology: It's been forever since I've updated, and yes, it is actually my fault for not having proper time management skills. I've decided that I need to finish _Dabbles with Daddy_ before I can get back to work on _My Guys_. I have a weird mind that seems to be totally focused on DwD right now, and won't even let me open the Word document for MG. Yes, this chapter is slightly shorter than the first, ranking in at about 5,105 words, which actually really annoys me, because the only way that I'm able to defend my serious lack of updates is with large chapters when I do update. Typically, entries are closer to 7,000. Or so I'd like to think. But, I had to end it at this point because the rest of it - which, I'm sad to report is mostly in my head and mostly not in a Microsoft Word document - goes better with the third part.

And I know that I don't even have a right to be thinking about 'future' projects, but because this isn't a full length story - although it might end up being a little longer than I had originally planned - I already know the exact ending that I want and I've been thinking about possibly continuing the storyline with little drabble-y oneshots. Hopefully, while I'm working on these drabble-y oneshots, I'll finally be able to work on MG a little more. Opinions? There is a poll on my profile. Feel free to check it out.

Reviews are welcomed with open arms, questions are answered, and constructive criticism is greatly appreciated!


	3. Chapter Three

**Dabbles with Daddy**

"If I poke you right…_here_, will you laugh?" She giggled. "I guess you will. What about here?" She giggled again. "Here?" Giggle. "Here?" Giggle. "Here?" Giggle. "He-"

"Oh, for the love of all that is pink and sparkly, she is _not_ the Pillsbury Dough Boy, and yes, she _will _giggle no matter where you poke her!" Sharpay glared across the lawn at the juvenile couple leaning against the tree, her fists clenched. "I promise you that she will giggle. Watch." Stalking over to them, she rammed her finger into Gabriella's upper arm. "Giggle."

"Te…he…?"

"See? I told you." Troy looked nervously at the blonde girl towering above his sitting form and smiled weakly. "Now shut up. I am so _sick _of your hypocriticalness today. _Oh, poor me. Gabriella's got a daddy. Oh-em-gee, will you giggle?_ Just. Shut. Up." Looking down, Gabriella bit her lip and stifled a giggle as Sharpay stalked away. Troy sighed, leaning back against the tree.

"She's had it in for me ever since I told her that I didn't want a ride in her pink convertible," he whispered. Gabriella giggled, wrapping his arm in a hug.

Resting her cheek against it, she said, "No. She totally loves you. Probably wants to have your babies." He glared at her teasingly before pulling his arm away. "Oh, come on, I was just kidding." Rolling her eyes, she let out an exasperated sigh. Chewing on her bottom lip thoughtfully, she scooted closer to him. "This ground is a little hard, don't you think?" He glanced questioningly at her. "Well, I think it's too hard. I," she said, kissing his cheek briefly, "Am going to go sit on the hammock."

"Oh?" he questioned, watching as she moved to stand beside him. "You're going to abandon me here? I don't even get a goodbye?" Crouching beside him quickly, Gabriella smirked and bit her bottom lip again.

"I don't know," she mused, making as if she were hesitant. "My dad might be able to see us over here. And aren't we pretending not to date?" She leaned forward so that their noses were brushing and their foreheads were touching. Licking her lips, she batted her eyelashes. "This could be dangerous for you." His eyes widened, and he took a strangled breath as her tongue darted out from between her lips to flash across his.

"Where did _this_ come from? What happened to my innocent-as-frick girlfriend? And why did this very seductive one decide to appear today? And right now? Why not tomorrow on our date, say, seven o'clock just as we turn off the road and into an abandoned parking lot?" Giggling, Gabriella dusted one side of his jaw with light kisses.

Ignoring him, she continued, "I'm going to keep kissing you until you get up and come sit on the hammock with me, and who knows what might happen if you don't stop me." Entwining their fingers, he nodded, chuckling as his girlfriend's lips carried his thoughts away from Joseph.

"So you're going to threaten me with kisses until I come and sit with you on the hammock? I see. I may have to resist. Hammocks really aren't my thing." Her lips pressed against the corner of his mouth in a long, lingering kiss, and her hands moved to cradle his neck. Jack let out a loud burst of laughter, and Troy's eyes snapped open. "Alright!" he yelped, his bright orbs darting unconsciously over to Joseph, "Alright, I'll come over to the hammock. Just cut it out." Giggling as she stood, Gabriella took his hands and pulled him to his feet.

"Okay, good, because I was about to drag you out into the middle of the lawn and start French kissing you if you didn't get up."

"Hush. Don't use words like French kiss when your dad is so close." As Gabriella laughed, walking backwards and towing Troy along, Chad swooped in behind her, grabbing her waist and hoisting her into the air. Tossing her over his shoulder and ignoring her complaints, he sat down on the hammock.

"Hey, Hoops," he called, splaying Gabriella across his lap. "I think your girl has a thing for me. Look at this body language. Everything is crystal clear. Care to come join us and try to win her back before we elope in Vegas?" Troy rolled his eyes and crossed the distance to his friends. He sat down gently, leaning back as Gabriella's head came to rest on his thighs.

"He's watching you two."

"Don't care. Too comfortable. Subtract ground, add hammock, yield happy butt." Gabriella laughed and his hand dropped from behind his head to gently run through her loose curls. She sighed contently and leaned into his hand. Chad fake-gagged, shoving a finger into the back of his mouth.

"You voluntarily sat down here," Gabriella reminded him. "I was the one that was brought here against my will, regardless of whether or not I was headed in this direction anyway." Shifting into a more comfortable position, Gabriella held out both of her hands with her index fingers point at Chad. "Let's play." Glancing down at his girlfriend, Troy chuckled lightly as he watched her begin a game of Chopsticks with Chad. Continuing to stroke his fingers through her hair, his other hand slid almost unconsciously to rest on her side, cupping around her hip.

"Dude, I'd watch out," Chad advised, his eyes flickering away from the hand game. "I don't know about you, but I know that my hands have a tendency to drift and you're not exactly in a situation where you could remedy any problem you come up with." Gabriella kicked the heel of her foot into Chad's thigh as Troy sent him a dirty look.

"Leave him alone," she demanded, slapping angrily at his hand with three fingers. Chad moved it behind his back. "Keep your eyes on your own hands." He touched her fist with his index finger, and she slapped him back with four fingers, leaving him to sigh in defeat. "See? Maybe, if you had been paying attention to your hands instead of Troy's, you would have won." Chad stuck out his tongue, grabbing for her legs as his hands attacked the backside of her knees. She squealed, writhing under his touch.

"Shouldn't have told Bolton where you're most ticklish. You know he can't keep a secret!" As she flailed around on the hammock, Gabriella reached up to slap at Troy's arms. The disciplining words were choked down by her laughter, and Troy couldn't help reaching down to lightly brush her neck with his fingertips. Her head slammed to the side, trapping his hand between her cheek and shoulder as she continued to thrash about.

"I hate you," she managed between her teeth, her abdomen shaking with silent laughter. "Traitor." Finally, Chad relinquished control of her legs and Gabriella sat up, slapping at his arms before turning on Troy and shoving him off of the hammock. It rocked violently and she nearly toppled off herself, but Chad caught her arm, steadying her.

"You just pushed me off the hammock," Troy gaped at her. "You literally shoved me onto the ground."

She pouted at him, "You told Chad about my tickly spot." Getting up onto his knees, Troy smiled at her, taking her hands in his. Chad rolled his eyes, but couldn't help smirking at the couple. Glancing across the yard, he caught Taylor's eyes as she spoke animatedly with Ryan and winked, throwing her a small nod. She smiled back, pausing her over-exaggerated gesticulation to wave her fingers in his direction.

"Forgive me, Gabriella, for I have been a naughty boy. A _very_ naughty boy." The brunette's eyes widened and she tugged her hands away from him, crossing them over her chest. Troy frowned in confusion and scooted towards her. "Hey, what's–"

She glared at him, "Here you've been all day, not kissing me because you're afraid of my dad, and I've been defending you and yelling at everyone."

"You also knowingly threatened me with kisses."

"Yeah, well, now you're flirting with me. So I think that you should march yourself right over there and talk to my dad, Mr. Confidence." His eyes bulged and he jumped up onto the hammock beside her. She gave him a hard stare, and he gulped, glancing at Chad for support. His best friend, however, merely shrugged.

"Brie, I can't just go over there and talk to him. Everyone is gonna stare at me. It has to be done privately, anyway, and it'll be weird if I'm like 'Hey, Mr. Montez, can I speak to you in private?' Don't make me, baby, please." Gabriella's gaze softened, but only slightly. Suddenly, a timer went off inside the house and Gabriella saw her mother standing up. She smiled to herself.

"Should I?" she asked, looking over at Chad and ignoring Troy's sudden frantic hand gestures. "Is it a bad idea to even mention anything?" Her friend shrugged helplessly, and she sighed. "Okay, I'll just ask my mom if I can help her with anything, and then I'll ask her, casually of course, what they're talking about over there. That's not suspicious, right?" She bit her lip. "You know what? I'm just going to ask. The more nervous that I am the more suspicious it will seem. Okay, here I go." Troy grabbed for her and she got off the hammock, his hands swiping through the air.

"No!" he whisper-screamed. "Don't do it!" Following behind her mother, Gabriella slipped through the doors to her kitchen, throwing a smirk over her shoulder at Troy. Pretending to be searching through the pantry for something, she peered around the corner as Christina busied herself, taking several pans out of the oven. Gabriella took a series of deep breaths, mimicking the yoga training that she had done with Ryan.

"Mami?" she squeaked timidly, stepping out of the pantry. Christina looked up from her trays, concern shining in her eyes.

"What's wrong, mija?"

Gabriella shook her head, "Nothing, mami, nothing's wrong. I was just wondering what you guys are talking about with daddy." Christina raised an eyebrow at her daughter, and Gabriella felt her cheeks flush slightly. "It's just that Troy hasn't really gotten a chance to talk to daddy yet, and he's afraid that his parents are going to be making him sound really bad because, you know… Jack kind of does that." Christina laughed and waved her hand, brushing off Gabriella's comment.

"Honey, do you really think that your father is going to form an opinion on the boy based on what his father is saying about him?" Gabriella shrugged.

"Parents have judged based on a lot less. And anyway, daddy was already kind of weird to him, so Troy's on edge. He's not being himself, and it's scaring me, because if daddy doesn't get to know the _real_ Troy then he won't know him like I do, and then everything will get messed up." Exasperated, she gestured out the window. "You know how he is, mom. He's sweet and he's funny and he's…," she hesitated, searching for a way to describe her boyfriend, "…outstandingly present. You always know when Troy is in a funky mood, because he's quiet and he's all off his game and he's kinda weird." She looked down at her hands and sighed. "I want daddy to love him. I need daddy to love him." Collapsing into a kitchen chair, she slumped her shoulders and pouted, rubbing her forehead slowly.

Christina wiped her hands on a towel and stepped around the counter, gently taking hold of Gabriella's shoulders. Brushing a chocolate curl behind her daughter's ear, Christina smiled comfortingly.

"You are a smart girl, Gabi. I know that, and your father knows that. We raised you to think, we raised you to be responsible, and you have never disappointed us. Deep down, your father knows that you're bright enough to pick a boy that's good for you. But you've got to understand that his first reaction right now is going to be 'get away from my daughter, you scum,' regardless of what kind of person Troy is. He's a dad. It's his right. Give him time." Gabriella looked down, breaking eye contact with her mother. "Mija, I've been around. I know Troy and I know what kind of a boy he is. Your father doesn't know Troy yet. All he knows is what he's seen today. Don't you think that it's reasonable that he might be a bit…wary?"

"But I told him all about Troy," Gabriella argued, looking back up. "I told him stories every time we talked on the phone, and I was always talking about everyone in emails." Christina shook her head.

"Gabi, be reasonable. Your father knew about things that Troy had done that you found amusing or worth mentioning. He didn't know him. And even if he felt like he did, he didn't know him as your boyfriend. That changes everything." Gabriella's shoulders fell and Christina sighed softly. "He does trust you, Gabi, you have to know that."

Gabriella shrugged. "It doesn't seem like it."

"He trusts you." Christina's voice was somewhat forceful. "Don't you understand, Gabi? Don't you understand how scared your father is right now?" Gabriella glanced up and shrugged again. "You're his baby girl, Gabriella," she smiled. "You're his princess."

Gabriella rolled her eyes. "It's not like he's going to lose me, or anything. I just want him to meet my boyfriend and _not_ scare him to death." Christina glanced up at the ceiling and muttered under her breath. "Was Papi like this when you were little? I mean, I cannot imagine Papi scaring daddy like he's scaring Troy right now." Gabriella stood up, walking over to the sliding glass doors leading to the backyard, and crossed her arms over her chest.

Pulling her daughter close again, Christina smiled. "I'll let you in on a little secret," she whispered. "Yes. Papi was the most overprotective father in the world. He had worked quite a few of my boyfriends over pretty well before your father came along, and I can say that your father is going to do the same exact thing for you." Gabriella swallowed, attempting to rid her throat of the lump that had lodged itself there. She did not particularly want to say it out loud to her mother in the kitchen on the day of her father's first meeting with her boyfriend, but some small part of her heart was suddenly begging for a second opinion.

"What if…? What if there aren't going to _be_ any other boyfriends?" Her mother laughed.

"Oh, honey, you're going to have more than one boyfriend. Who wouldn't want to date you? You're intelligent, and beautiful, and–"

"No," Gabriella cut her off softly. "I'm not talking about that. What if there aren't going to be any other boyfriends because it's just going to be Troy?" She gulped softly before letting out a shaky breath. "It's not impossible." Christina's stare was hard, but Gabriella didn't take it to be menacing. More, it was concentrated. She blinked several time, and seemed to be struggling to find words. Finally running a hand through her hair, Christina plopped herself down onto one of the stools at the kitchen counter.

"What are you saying, mija?" she questioned gently, trying to keep an understanding smile on her face. Gabriella smiled sadly and looked down at her hands, playing with her fingernails.

"You think I'm stupid." She nodded, chuckling to herself as she sat down on the stool beside her mother. "Maybe I am. Hardly anybody gets what I want, and I know that. Everything is going to make it hard; school, college, _life_. Everything is going to be hard," she paused, and Christina noticed a glisten to her daughter's chocolate eyes. "But I want him, mami. And I think I want him forever."

Placing a hand over her daughter's knee, Christina sighed softly. "Honey… I don't doubt that you feel very strongly for Troy. I don't doubt that you love him, even. Right now must feel new and strange and wonderful, but I don't…" She hesitated. "I don't want you to start this right now. You have plenty of time to worry about your 'forever' later on. Worry about being with Troy right now." She smiled suddenly. "Worry about getting that Nervous Nelly of a boy to talk to your father." Gabriella giggled, quieting herself as the sliding door opened and Joseph stepped inside.

"What?" he asked, holding several empty beer bottles in his hands. "Why do you need to talk to me?" Gabriella smiled, scooting over to him and taking some of the bottles out of his hands. Following him over to the sink, she glanced at Christina before exhaling slowly.

"Dad, can you do me a favor?"

"Sure, Gabi," he said distractedly, working on rinsing out the bottles. "What can I do?"

"Talk to Troy." Her father dropped one of the bottles into the sink and the neck cracked off. "Dad!"

"It was an accident," he insisted as Christina came up behind him to help pick up the shattered pieces. "Now what were you saying, Gabriella?" he asked. Gabriella lifted herself to sit on the edge of the counter, watching her parents.

"Please dad, just talk to him. He's really nervous, so be nice, but talk to him. Please. He's a good guy, daddy. And he really wants your approval." She spoke quietly, focusing on the sink instead of her father's face.

"Gabi, I–" The sliding door flew open and Troy stepped inside.

"Hey," he breathed. "I heard a crash…" He trailed off after he spotted Joseph standing behind Gabriella. "You okay?" She smiled at him and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Dad had a little too much to drink and dropped a bottle." He chuckled, and she glanced at Joseph. "I'll be out in a second, 'kay?" Troy nodded, giving her a weak smile before retreating back out to the yard. Christina clasped her hands together and touched Joseph's arm.

"Oh, did you see that?" she asked her husband as he moved towards the garbage can. "He was worried about her. He ran in here to make sure that he was okay. Joseph, wasn't that adorable?" Joseph shrugged.

"I suppose." Gabriella winced at the harsh words.

"Daddy…"

"I will, Gabriella," he said forcefully. "Just give me a little time." He closed his eyes briefly before softening his tone. "I'll talk to him. I will." Hopping off of the counter, she stepped towards her father and wrapped her arms around his abdomen in a tight hug.

"Thank you," she murmured into his shirt. "This is really important to me." She nodded up at him. "Thank you."

Once she left the kitchen, Joseph leaned back against the counter and covered his face with his hands. Christina stepped towards him, taking his hands into hers. He looked down at his wife sadly and sighed, sweeping her into his arms. Breathing in the scent of her shampoo, he squeezed his eyes shut. Christina pressed a soft, comforting kiss to the side of his neck.

"How did I miss so much?" His voice quivered as he spoke. "She's so…," he struggled, "mature now. She's so different. She didn't tell me about all of this on the phone. I didn't think I would miss so much. My daughter was in a play. My Gabi sang in front of an audience, and I wasn't there to watch her. I couldn't bring her flowers and tell her how great she did." Christina's hand soothed over the tense muscles of her husband's shoulders as he buried his face in her hair. "She has a boyfriend. My baby girl has a boyfriend."

-

-

"Yo, yo, dude. Let's shoot hoops and look at girls in a derogatory manner."

"Oh, I got this! You're Chad!"

"Very nice," Taylor nodded her approval.

"Hey!"

"Hey, shut up. It's my turn."

"Actually," Kelsi piped up, "it should be Troy's turn. But he's in the bathroom." Gabriella's eyebrows shot up and she looked around the circle of her friends.

"He's been in the bathroom for almost fifteen minutes." Chad snorted. "Keep your thoughts clean," Gabriella warned, moving to stand up. "I'll go find him. He's probably hiding from my dad." Her friends laughed, and she moved quickly into the house.

Checking behind her carefully as she headed into the foyer, Gabriella ducked into the stairwell and scurried up the steps. If her dad spotted her sneaking upstairs and then coming back down with Troy, her boyfriend might just die of embarrassment. Silently, she pushed open the door to the guest bedroom and moved towards the bed. Sliding up onto the mattress beside Troy, she smiled and rubbed a finger over his forearm.

"I was wondering where you disappeared to. What are you doing up here? Or, should I ask, who are you hiding from?" she joked softly, pulling her legs up onto the bed as she faced him. He chuckled softly, allowing his large hand to curl around her slender fingers. Leaning into her, he sighed and brushed his lips over her ear.

"We can just stay up here all day. We can stay up here all day and it'll just be you and me," he murmured to her, moving to wrap his arm around her shoulders, keeping their hands connected. Gabriella giggled as his lips worked around her earlobe, tugging it into his mouth.

"As much as I would like to spend a little time alone with you, I don't think that it's a good idea. Eventually, someone is going to notice that we're gone. That bathroom story only covers you for, like, five minutes." Troy grinned, trailing light kisses down her cheek as he whispered.

"I'll do that thing that you like that I can't do in front of your dad." Pulling back, she raised an eyebrow and shot him an incredulous look.

"Oh, do you mean holding my hand?"

He smirked, leaning back to gently nip at her ear. "I was thinking about kissing, but if you only want to hold my hand… fine." She flattened a hand against his chest and pushed him back. "What's wrong?" She looked down at her lap and then glanced up at him.

"Nothing, it's just…" She hesitated. Releasing his hand, she tucked her hair behind her ear and wrapped her arms around her torso. "You promised that you were going to be yourself today. But you're not being yourself. You're being all weird. And I think that that might be why my dad…"

"Hates me?" he offered quietly, pulling his arm from around her shoulders.

"No," she said hastily, "He doesn't hate you. I think he's just a little confused by you, at the moment." She scooted closer to him. "I told him all these stories about my best friend ever, who is the coolest guy I've met in my life. 'Cause he's funny and sweet, and he's hot…," she giggled, "Which I conveniently forgot to mention. And he's a bunch of other stuff." She hesitated, "A bunch of other stuff that you're not being today." Troy groaned and fell backwards onto the bed, covering his face with his hands.

"I screwed everything up, didn't I?" he moaned, slamming his head back against the firm mattress. Smiling sympathetically, she lowered herself down next to him, looking up at the ceiling. Turning her head, she giggled at him and took his hands in hers.

"Not yet," she murmured calmly. "But if you leave today and you haven't talked to him, I may have to consider breaking up with you."

His eyes snapped to hers and she couldn't hold back the soft snort that escaped her. He grunted, "Witch."

"Oh, thanks. It was only a joke."

"At least I didn't call you a bitch."

"I would have been offended either way."

He shrugged. "Payback is a bitch."

"I bet payback is offended," she pointed out.

"I don't care about payback. I care about you, jerkface!"

"Then talk to my dad. And stop calling me names!"

"I don't know how! And I thought you liked that. I thought it was a running joke thingy."

"It's not a running joke thingy." She huffed. "Okay, we're off topic. How would you feel about me talking to my dad and giving him the idea of having a talk with you?" Troy propped himself up on his elbow and chewed on his bottom lip thoughtfully.

"I guess that might work."

"Okay, good. I already did it." He narrowed his eyes at her and fell back onto the bed again.

"_Great_. By the way, I hate you."

"I'm only trying to help," she whispered gently, leaning over to kiss his cheek.

He groaned, "I know…"

His eyes met hers and he exhaled shakily. The sudden intensity of their closeness and the isolation of the dim room rushed over Gabriella, and she felt the nerve endings in her fingertips tingling. Keeping her head close to his, she lightly trailed kisses over his jaw, ending at the corner of his mouth. Turning her body over, she stopped when half of her weight was resting atop Troy, the other half still on the bed. One of her hands tenderly molded to the curves of his neck and she smiled as she brushed her lips over his.

"We really should get back to the party," she whispered, hooking her leg around his calve. "They'll just come looking for us soon." His hand cupped her elbow and held her there.

"I think we can afford two more minutes, don't you? Nobody is going to miss us for two minutes. It's only a measly one hundred and twenty seconds." He craned his neck upward, stretching to kiss her lips again. "No, see, this isn't going to work. If we stay like this my neck will be killing me by tonight. Get off of me." Slightly put off, Gabriella sat up, timidly tucking stray strands of hair behind her ear.

"Sorry," she mumbled, fumbling with her hands as he reached out to push her back onto the bed. He smirked.

"I totally have to be on top anyway, or we'll never get anywhere."

-

-

"Okay, okay, we have to stop now. If we don't go back downstairs in the next few minutes, someone is going to come looking for us, and then you'll be very sorry that you didn't listen to me." Troy pulled away from her neck, trailing his lips along her jaw slowly before placing opened-mouth kisses on the edge of her lips. "Seriously, Troy, we have to go back to the backyard." Slowly, Troy rolled off of her, remaining close to her side and nuzzling his nose against her ear.

"Are you sure?" he whispered. "Are you positive?" Sitting up slowly, she reached over and grabbed onto his knee.

"Affirmative. Now get up." He followed her into the bathroom, and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind as she smoothed out her hair. She giggled and worked around him as he dusted her neck and shoulders with light kisses, his hair tickling her skin. "Cut it out," she laughed, holding onto his arms. He rested his chin on her shoulder and watched her face in the mirror.

"You're even more beautiful after we make out." He watched her cheeks flush. "Mm, so beautiful," he mumbled into her neck. She giggled again and finally pulled away from him.

"You look beautiful, too. That lip gloss really compliments you." Glancing at himself in the mirror, Troy grimaced.

"Get it off, get it off!" Taking a tissue and wiping it over his lips, Gabriella cleaned the remaining lip gloss off of his neck. "You didn't actually have to get it off. I could've done it. Now I feel bad." Running a hand through his hair, she leaned forward to peck his lips before smiling and wiping them again.

"Let's go downstairs. You have a conversation waiting for you."

-

-

"Ew… Do you seriously expect me to eat this? Don't think I didn't see Mrs. Montez manhandling this meat in the kitchen earlier. And then they cooked it on that disgusting grill. Look at what they did. They got lines all over it from the greasy nastiness." Zeke leaned over to examine the top of Sharpay's burger before holding out the ketchup.

"It's supposed to look like that. And you have to use your hands. They taste way better homemade." She shot him a skeptical look.

"I doubt it."

"Just try it," he said, exasperation seeping into his voice as he squirted the red condiment onto her hamburger. She squealed.

"Not so much!"

"Sharpay, please…"

Troy glanced up from his plate, watching the exchange between the two. "God, will you two just date already?" He spooned a bit of macaroni salad onto his plate. "Zeke is practically in love with you, and either you like him too or you like to eat way more than you let on because your plate is basically as full as Chad's and it's all stuff that Zeke recommended that you fake-argued about so that you would still be playing hard-to-get. So put the poor kid out of his misery and kiss him already." Sharpay stared at him, her mouth hanging open in shock as Zeke's face flushed.

"I… I do _not_ eat too much," the blonde snapped indignantly.

"Well then, that means you like Zeke. Problem solved. Date him." He walked away, heading towards Gabriella and leaving Zeke to stare uncomfortably at the platter of pickles and olives in an attempt to avoid making eye contact with the girl beside him.

"He's wrong," he finally sputtered. "He's just stupid."

"Maybe he's right. Maybe I'm lonely and I'm substituting the human companionship that I could be getting from you with the food that you keep suggesting to me." He gulped, not quite sure whether or not she was being sarcastic or not.

"Or maybe you just like food."

"Maybe. Would you suggest the potato salad?"

Gabriella looked up as Troy sat down beside her on the hammock, and she smiled at him. "Good effort over there with Zeke and Sharpay. But I doubt that she'll ever really consider going out with him. She needs a challenge. You were a challenge," she pointed out, nibbling at the bun from her hotdog. "You didn't really like her. He likes her too much. By accepting that, she's not proving herself. She'll feel like she's settling." Troy blinked, his fork frozen inches from his mouth.

"You've given this quite a bit of thought," he said suspiciously, narrowing his eyes at her. "Why?"

She shrugged, "I feel bad for him. I look at what we have, and then I look at him and I feel bad. He likes her a lot, and I just wanted to figure out a way… It's sad." Troy nodded sadly, chewing thoughtfully on a forkful of coleslaw.

"Oh my _God_!" Taylor's sudden shriek caused Troy's neck to snap up, and he found his eyes drawn to the blonde girl gazing sadly across the table at the taller boy stacking tomato slices on top of his cheeseburger. As it turned out, Taylor's scream was in response to a worm. Elbowing his girlfriend lightly, he jerked his head in the direction of the table.

"Maybe all hope isn't lost." Gabriella nodded slowly, biting off a piece of her hotdog.

Swallowing, she asked, "You're going to talk to my dad, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then maybe not."

-

-

"Are we playing Manhunt tonight? No way it's dark enough yet, but are we going to play later?" Chad glanced around the circle of teenagers, his eyebrows raised. "Oh, come on. You can't have a party that lasts until dark and then not play Manhunt." Kelsi shifted uncomfortably and turned to Gabriella.

"Hey, what's Manhunt?" she questioned softly.

"It's kind of like tag in the dark," she explained. "I don't know how you guys play, but I played on a team, and we had a base. So one team guards the base, and the other team tries to get back to it." Jason's face lit up.

"Alright, a girl who plays Manhunt willingly. Up top!" He held out his hand, and Gabriella laughed, reaching over to slap it.

"My dad used to hate when I played with my cousins. He always thought that I was going to get abducted, so he made me be hiding buddies with David. It was terrible." Troy's gaze shifted over to the adults as they began carrying dishes inside.

"Uh…" He stood up. "Gabriella and I are gonna…go over there." He pointed to the currently unoccupied picnic table. "We'll just be a minute." Gabriella clambered to her feet, following behind him curiously as he crossed the short distance between their circle and the table.

"If this isn't what a teenaged boy having a freak-out looks like, I don't know what does," Gabriella joked. Troy chuckled nervously, and she reached out to grab his arm. "Hey, hey, what's wrong?" Sitting down on one of the benches, he put his elbows on the table and cradled his head in his hands. Climbing over the bench to sit on his other side, Gabriella rubbed a hand up and down his back. Rubbing his forehead hard with his palms, Troy exhaled slowly.

"Your dad… He's going to talk to me, right? I don't have to suggest it, or anything?" Sighing with relief, Gabriella gently ran her fingertips over the contours of his back. He shivered slightly, and she giggled.

"He will come to you…eventually. You know," she said, leaning forward to rest her cheek against his arm, "If you had been like this all week because I told you about my dad in advance, I probably would have killed you by now. But since it's only for one day, and it's kind of erratic, random bursts of nerves, I'll tolerate you." For a moment, they sat in silence, her hand soothing the tightened muscles of his back.

"I just want him to like me," he admitted quietly. "I just want him to think that I'm good for you."

-

-

"Troy, do you think I could have a word?" Troy felt his body go rigid and he glanced at Gabriella nervously, but she only nodded enthusiastically, gesturing for him to go over to her father. "That is, if I'm not interrupting anything." Joseph looked between the two teens.

"No, that's fine, daddy. He's all yours." Standing up, she brushed past Troy with a quick squeeze on his bicep and left him standing awkwardly beside her father. Joseph took his daughter's abandoned seat, watching Troy carefully as he shifted uncomfortably before seating himself across the table.

For a moment, both men were silent.

"It's a nice night," Joseph said to the younger male, taking a small sip of the beer he held in his hand. Troy nodded, knowing that weather wasn't going to remain the primary topic of this conversation for long. "Is it always this hot in Albuquerque?" Troy nodded again, wishing that it wasn't. His palms were sweating enough on their own. "Well, that's alright. It's too late to go back now. Besides, I've missed too much already."

"Hmm?"

"The last time I saw my daughter, she wasn't like this." Troy glanced over at Gabriella, watching her attempt to salsa dance with Ryan to the music humming out of the speakers. Sharpay was yelling at Chad in the background, demanding that he learn how to properly dance before he stepped onto the dance floor at the risk of breaking everyone else's toes.

"Uh…like what, sir?"

"Happy. She spent all of her time doing school work in her room. She didn't have friends over and she didn't go out with them. And she certainly didn't have a boyfriend." He shook his head slowly. "She certainly did _not_ have a boyfriend, especially not one that was willing to scale a tree just to apologize for something that wasn't completely his fault in the first place." Troy felt the heat rush to his cheeks and he looked down at his hands. "Which, by the way, we will have to talk about in greater detail," Joseph assured him. Troy gulped silently. "But let's not go into that right now. I'm more interested in you at the moment."

Troy gulped and felt his legs beginning to shake under the table and dug his fingernails into his thighs. "Oh?" Joseph leaned forward, across the table, and focused his eyes onto Troy.

"I'm going to be very honest with you for a few moments, Troy, alright?" Troy nodded wordlessly. "And I would appreciate if you would be honest with me." He nodded again. "Honestly, the notion of you is quite frightening."

Troy blinked. "Why?" he stammered, shifting awkwardly in his seat.

Joseph sighed, "I can't seem to find anything genuinely wrong with you. You're not a drinker or a smoker, I haven't seen any tattoos poking out, and I highly doubt that my daughter would be stupid enough to stay with you if you were an abusive incompetent moron. Or a drug user." There was a bit of a light tone in his voice still, and Troy raised an eyebrow.

"Thank you…?" Joseph shook his head.

"It's not as much a compliment as it is a grievance. You would probably be a lot easier to tolerate if I thought you didn't stand a chance with my baby girl." Troy attempted to swallow the lump in his throat, but instead felt it bobbing up and down as though it were determined to choke him at one point or another. "But she seems to like you a lot, and that makes me very nervous. She was practically begging me to find some sort of a middle ground with you. Clearly, she doesn't plan on letting you go anytime soon. But what about you? How strong, exactly, are your feelings for my daughter?"

Troy stammered, "E-exactly?" Joseph nodded. Millions of answers rushed into his head, swirling around his mind, and each was more perfect than the next. Biting down on his tongue gently, Troy took a deep breath. "I… I don't know. I know that I've never felt anything like this before, and I know that I never want to stop feeling the way a feel around her, but I don't really know what that means. I've never been in a relationship where the feelings went this deep before. In all honesty, Mr. Montez, I…" He hesitated. "When you look at Mrs. Montez, does your stomach drop out sometimes? And you feel kind of sick…but in a good way?" The finger that was tracing the lip of Joseph's beer bottle stopped as he nodded.

"That's how I feel when I see Gabriella at school in the morning." He muttered it somewhat to himself. "I guess I know how I feel about her, then. It's funny," he chuckled awkwardly, "My dad said the same thing about my mom. He said his whole body sort of tingles."

"What are you saying, Troy?"

He took a deep breath. He hadn't imagined Joseph being the first person that he openly and directly admitted it to. "I love her. And it's not puppy love or whatever you're thinking. It's real." Joseph fixed a cold gaze on his face, and Troy felt his palms growing sweaty. His gaze shifted slightly, just to the left of Troy's head, and he knew that Joseph was watching his daughter dance. His eyes refocused.

"Don't hurt my daughter."

"No, sir."

"I missed the night that she came home and asked her mother if you two could go out on a date. I missed the night that you dropped her off and kissed her for the first time. I missed the night that she sang in front of an audience for the first time." Joseph leaned forward in his seat. "I missed a lot of the good stuff. Don't make me go through the bad." Troy took several shaky breaths.

"No, sir."

"She trusts you," he said, pointed towards his daughter. "And so I'm going to trust you." He took another sip from his beer. "Don't disappoint me." Troy shook his head, smiling slightly.

"No, sir."

-

-

**Author's Note:** Alright! My writing groove is back. Well, it's back aside from a few minor setbacks like being banned from the computer for all of Christmas break in order to spend time with family, resulting in a lack of writing. But I'll get to that in a second. Here is the penultimate (I believe) chapter of _Dabble with Daddy_. I think there is going to be one final chapter after this to sum everything up, and maybe I'll throw in a few embarrassing moments for our lovely couple. After that, I'll probably take a little break to focus most of my energy on _My Guys_ and possibly work on the drabble-continuation of _Dabbles with Daddy_ on the side -- _Firsts with Father _is the title in progress_._ (A poll is available in my profile; feel free to voice your opinion.)

Regrettably, the lack of quality time on the computer in the past few weeks has hindered my ability to properly work on _My Guys_. The next chapter is in progress -- and I really mean it this time; my friend won't even let me forget if I try -- and the plot lines for the next few chapters are planned out. Yay directionality! So the wait for that shouldn't be too long. And hopefully this chapter will hold you over until I'm able to get you the next chapter of _MG_.

I also want to mention that I'm UBER grateful to all my readers -- something that I really don't say enough. You guys have been totally supportive and patient with me, and I won't forget that.

Feedback for this chapter would be greatly appreciated! Constructive criticism is always welcomed!


End file.
